Real-time monitoring and display of physiological data from monitored subjects is now of interest in many fields of endeavor. For example, such monitoring can be useful where the monitored subjects are in potentially stressful or hazardous situations. Such situation occur in the military, in first responder professions such as firefighters, rescuers, police and the like, industrial settings, and so forth. This invention has other applications in competitive athletics during training, and competition; and in non-competitive but potentially hazardous recreations such as diving, caving, and the like; and so forth.
Systems and methods for real-time physiological monitoring are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,198,394 B1 (the '394 patent), filed Dec. 5, 1996, discloses a system for remote monitoring directed to military applications. It describes systems that require subjects to wear a military-type harnesses that carry a variety of sensors and communication equipment. However, such military-grade equipment designed for battlefield use has limited appeal in other applications.
Other prior-art monitoring systems and methods can be more appealing for non-military use. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,203 (the '203 patent), filed Apr. 4, 2000, discloses a monitoring system in which innovative physiological sensors are arranged in comfortable and unobtrusive garments of various types and can provide quantitative data on cardiac, respiratory, and other physiologic systems. However, such systems have not been adapted to real-time operation in field conditions.
Thus, that prior art lacks monitoring systems that provide quantitative physiological data in real-time using subject-monitoring technologies appealing to a broad range of monitored subjects.